White Knights and Candy Canes
by MagicallyChallenged
Summary: Sequel to Some Kind Of Comfort Entire Story dedicated to my most amazing of readers Hellmouth20, Ella Julian, Strizzy and Mikachoo
1. The Beginning Of Everything Else

_She ran across the grass towards the huge tree in garden, hooking her foot in a knot about three foot up she stopped as a voice called her name._

_"Kate, sweetie you might not want to do that... not in your condition" The voice shouted from behind the lens. She stopped and smiled at the person filming. Her foot pushing down on the tree as she pulled herself up it._

_"My condition... jees Jack you'd think I was dying, I'll be fine..." she called, finding her footing and scaling the tree in lightning speed. The camera followed her, zooming in on her as she reached the top and threw him a smile that warmed his heart. _

_"...You going to join me or am I doomed to remain lonely in my little tree for the rest of my days?" she asked, tilting her head as the sunlight caught her hair illuminating her. He couldn't help but think about how beautiful she looked right then and there... Freedom was definitely her colour._

_"You know i'd never let you suffer life alone Katie... I'll be right up" He mumbled and then the turned off the camera._

That was seven months ago, she left the next day Jack never even got so much as goodbye. An explanation would have been too much. He wondered where she was, if she was safe... if she missed him like he missed her. Her letter explained everything and nothing, all it told Jack was that she needed to find herself before she could be with him. She'd waited a month and then just like the time they kissed, she ran. He reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a worn piece of paper. Reaching to his left and turning on the table lamp his eyes focused on the last words she wrote to him.

_"I promise, you'll see us again... We both love you always remember that... Kate and Faith"_

Yeah she'd dissapeared, left in the middle of the night like dreams that didn't quite reach full bloom. Like the words of lovers whispered into the night sky she left and with ehr she took her dauughter, his unborn child... His Faith.


	2. Recognition

**Hope you all like it!!!**

Its funny how we forget those promises made in the heat of the moment, in a time when the only thing that clear is what you know your going to do. Nothing you see is really there, what you feel... only temporary. Four years had passed and those promises like his heart remained broken, shattered. Pieces scattered without any real hope of being found. He spent every waking minute trying to find them , to find her. She'd be four now, reading, swimming, and with the bat of her eyelashes able to command him to do whatever she wanted. Tea party, dressing up, and Jack would don the pink rosey cheeks and drink fresh air just to spend time with her...because what father wouldnt do such a simple thing for his daughter.

Instead of tucking her in and kissing her forehead, gently brushing her wavy black curls from her face as she snuggled into her bear, he spent every night trying to find her. Every waking moment trying to bring her home. Where she belonged.

The phone rang...

"Hello... Shephard residence.." Jack answered, his hand shaking as he held the receiver to his ear.

"Jack, its me Macca, we got a lead on her..." the voice told him. Jack pulled out a pen from the side drawer and bega to scribble furiously on the paper next to the phone, tryying to make it work.

"Give me the address" He instructed the voice. Making sure he got the correct address down he thanked the man and let out a breath he didn't realise he had been holding. He had found her... at last

He pulled up to the old, wooden house on the end of the street, it slates had fallen off the roof and grass had turned brown from many a summers drought. He had been praked outside the house for an hour now, he hadn't seen anyone leave or anyone arrive but he had a feeling it was the right place. Stepping out of the car, he pulled his floor length coat tighter around him, it was winter and boy was he feeling it.

Walking towards the window he took a step closer to look through it and thats when he saw her, curled up in the corner of the room. Her eyes convincing him of her heritage, in his dreams they had been a brighter shade of green, now they were the dark, passionate brown reflected in his own. Her waist length black hair hanging half over her face. He remembered how in his dreams he would sit her on his knee and brush it for her, once soft and silky it now hung matted and mixed with tears. Her knees puled into her chest as her whole body shook uncontrolably.

Entering the unlocked house, he watched her lift her head slightly as he approached. She inched closer to the wall, fear in her eyes and what he saw broke his heart.

"Please don't hurt me..." She whispered, her voice trembling along with the rest of her body. Jack shook his head and let a tear fall from his eyes. He wanted to kill him for this, but inside he knew he was partially to blame after all he had let her take her... he hadn't searched until it was too late, but he let her take her none the less. Now here she was four years old and already a broken soul. The girl saw the tears escaping from Jacks eyes and she looked at him confused. Sawyer always said that only babies cry, this was usually during a beating he was giving her or her mother. Usually her mom... why was this man crying? she thought to herself as she contnued to stare at him.

"Please..." she begged again unsure of why this man hadn't hurt ehr already. He brough his hand up to his face and wiped away another stray tear that had escaped him.

"I'm not going to hurt you Faith..." he told her, watching her eyes light up as he netioned her name. Nowadays she was mostly refered to as 'the kid' or 'Doc jnr' even her mom rarely called her by her first name, she remember her mom saying something about her father choosing it. She didn't remember much about her father only that her mom said he was good man. She closed her eyes and though... if he was such a good man, why asn't he rescued me yet?

"How do you know my name?" she asked him. Jacks heart broke a little bit more. He never thought he'd ever have to do this is his lifetime. He watched her, taking in all her attributes and checking them off as his own, he saw Kate in her... but also saw just a little more of himself in her.

"You don't remember me do you?" he asked. Faith shook her head,. She didn't know why but she felt like she could trtust this man. She saw it in his eyes... in her eyes. She watched as he reached into his inner pocket and pulled out a stuffed bear, pink tattered and with one ear missing. It was like lighting the way her eyes lit up and she began to stand up.

"Livvy?..." she asked looking at the bear, not knowing where she recognised it from but just knowing that did recognise it meant alot to Jack "...Daddy?" she asked. Her heart beating so fast she could hear it echoing in the dark empty room.


	3. It Hasn't Been Home Without You

**Yeah you're right she did go back to Sawyer, but it's not like you think... Sawyer will not come off in a good light here, but hey! Does he ever?... All i can say to you is, Kate didn't go voluntary to Sawyer... but you'll read more about that later**

Jacks heart raced, his eyes focused on the small imitation of himself that stood infront of him. The little girl inched closer and Jack bent down to her height. She stopped just a few steps from him and tilted her head to the side, staring at him as if looking for something she had lost.

"Daddy... is that you?" she asked watching as Jack broke down, the tears falling freely from his eyes and a smile on his face.

"Yeah baby, it's daddy..." The little girl threw herself at him, his arms opened to let her in and then closed around her tiny frame as her head found his shoulder "...I can't believe I found you..."

The little girl tightened her grip on Jacks top, he could feel her body shaking and knew she was crying. He rocked her back adn forth gently in his arms, one hand resting on the back of her head the other on her back as he lifted her off the ground. His eyes closed tight as he fought back thoughts of this being nothing more than a reccuring dream. No... This was all too real. After Five years he had finally found her and this time he hasn't letting go. Her small body held tigh in his arms he felt her legs wrap around his waist securing her place in his arms. He placed a gentle kiss on her neck rubbing her back soothingly as she relaxed in his arms.

"I missed you daddy..." she muffled against his shoulder, her grip on him tightening like she never wanted to let go.

"I've missed you too baby..."

She pulled away from Jack to look him in the eyes, she knew no one could lie when you looked them straight in the eyes and her next question was something she needed an answer to.

"You won't leave again... will you?" she asked helplessly. Jack, not wanting to point out that he never left her just shook his head and looked into the eyes of hs daughter. Her childish innocence had been replaced with the sad hue of the worries of the world.

"I'm not going anywhere..." he told her, pulling her back to his chest again and kissing her forhead "...not without you..."

They just stayed that way for a while, lost in the comfort of their father/ daughter embrace. Her head rested gently on the chest of a man she could trust, and in his arms the body of a child who's place had always been right there.

Faith was the one to break the embrace, stepping out of Jacks arms and looking down at the floor. Silently scolding herself for nearly forgetting everything she had told herself... Never Trust Any Man...

She knew Jack was her father but he had let her down. No matter what way she looked ta the situation he hadn't been there to save her when Sawyer got drunk. He wasn't there to stop Sawyer the time he threw her against the wall after she had tried to protect her mommy. She looked at Jack and shook her head, he just knelt there confused and full of anger, angeer for what they had done to her and anger for what he had let them do.

She watched him beat himself up inside, and she felt something she hadn't thought about before. Maybe her mommy hadn't told her dadddy where they where. He had said he was looking for her... maybe he really did want her, maybe if he had known where she was he would have come for her sooner. She looked at him he looked so tired and old, his eyes were weary and his complexion pale and drawn.

"Are you okay Faith?" he asked her softly, watching as she studied his face. She looked skeptical for a moment and then gave him a warmed look as she finally asked for something she only ever asked in her dreams. She took a step forward, her hands tucked into the pockets of her torn jeans and her eyes fixed not on Jack but on her black battered converse for fears of rejection.

"Daddy... can I come home, please?" she begged, Jack choked up again. She honsetly didn't think he was gping t leave her here did she? She had lived anough denial and heartache to last a lifetime, Jack didn't want any of that for her.. what he wanted for her was the life she deserved. Playing hide and seek with her firends in the waist high corn that fiilled the fields at the back of his house. Watching her from the kitchen window as she scaled the huge Oak planted to the left of the fencing. Seeing her smile as he would hand her a forbidden cookie and tell her 'not to tell mom'. She shoud be carefree and happy, he thought watching as she awaited his answer. He opened his arms again and nodded his head, confirming that he would take her with him. Take her away from this place bacuase what Princess didn;t deserve the chance to be rescued. He wtached her step to him and in her eyes he saw the tears that had previously fallen from his own. Taking her in his arms once more he felt the warmth her body held and the love she had for him, as she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck once more.

"Of course you can come home..." He told her wishing that he had always felt the way he felt right now "... it hasn't been home without you".

There was a lot to do... alot that needed to be said, done, fixed... starting with Faith. He knew he wasn't going anywhere without her but he also knew that Kate wasn't just going to give her up. There had to be a reason why she had kept her from him all these years right? He just had to keep reminding himself how good it felt to be stood there, in his arms the little girl that time wouldn't forget, the little girl that meant more to him than anything in the world. He was ready to see Kate and Sawyer again, he was ready to tell them he wasn't going to give Faith up... not without a fight...

**again Reviews mean Love XxXxX**


	4. Truth

**This is for Hellmouth20, my mission is to finish this specially for you, your my most dedicated reader and I really appreciate you as much as you do me... I hope you like it.**

It was eleven o'clock... Kate checked her watch for the hundreth time tonight and then glanced over at Sawyer. He was dancing with a blonde woman, she couldn't have been a day over 21, his hands snaked around her slender frame. Kate closed her eyes and tried to shake the thoughts of how he had once held her this way, how he used to take her dancing and whisper sweet nothings into her ear under a moonlit sky, now all he brought her out for was to punish her.

Her eyes darted back to her watch, her mind racing at the thought of leaving Faith alone... especially after Sawyer had just beaten her for reading.

_She sat on the stairs, a book clutched firmly between her hands and her eyes following the words so closely as she wished she could be right there alongside, Jess and Leslie... Terebithia sounded like heaven compared to this place. She heard him come out of his room and shuffle down the stairs still in a drunken stupor, ending herself closer to the wall out of his way she closed her eyes and hid the book behind her back. He passed her on the stairs and she let out a sigh of relief, if there was one thing Sawyer hated, it was reading in his house. She sat down and brushed a stray curl behind her ear before returning back to Terebithia._

_"You think you're smarter than me?..." came a voice from the looming shadow that had just appeared over her. She looked up to find Sawyer standing there with a not so friendly look on his face._

_"No sir..." Faith shook her head feeling her whole body tense at the thought of what was about to happen. Afterall thisa wouldn't be the first time she had been caught reading, the first day she went to school she came home revealing that her teacher thought she should be pushed further ahead, considering she could already read at a 8th grade level. When Sawyer had found out he had beaten her within an inch of her life for showing him up, that had been the last time she had been to school. _

_He bent over so that his face was inches from hers, so close she could smell the sickening aroma of brandy in his hair from where he had been buckled over the toilet bowl just minutes ago._

_"You think just because your pa was a smart ass your gunna take after him?..." he asked patronisingly. She shook her head again her eyes not daring to leave his instead she watched as he backed away "... Kate!, Hey Kate!..." he shouted, but with no avail, she hadn't heard him "... This stupid kid of his thinks shes better than me... you wanna come show her what happens when people upset me..." still no answer "Hey Kate!... Get in here" he ordered grabbing her by her hair and forcing her to her knees infront of a crying Faith. She could see the pain in her mothers eyes, the fear had long subsided long ago. She no longer felt much during her beatings she would simply shut her eyes and let it happen._

_"Get off my mommy!" Faith screamed, lunging at Sawyer who threw Kate to the floor and grabbed Faith by her shoulders forcing her small frame to the wall. He raised his hand and brought it down across her face. Her eyes welling up, she sank to the floor moving her mothers head into her lap as she tenderly, through tear filled eyes ran her fingers through Kates hair._

_Sawyer stood watching this, feeling nothing but hatred for both of these people. He turned away and walked up the stairs but not before ordering Kate to get up and get dressed as they were going out. Kate stood up and threw her daughter an apologetic look. It was true, she had chosen this for herself, this life... with him. She only wished she ahd thought about Faith before. She would have left her with Jack had she known, but its hard when you love someone as much as Kate loved her daughter. She had even loved Jack for a while, part of her still did but when endless nights the the hospital and mot enought time together put a strain on their realtionship, instead of talking it out she did the only thing she knew how to do. She ran... taking his daughter with her adding more pain and misery to his life._

_Faith sat in silence, her back still pressed up against the wall. The stinging of Sawyers hand still fresh on her face. She let the tears fall from her eyes, down her cheeks finally mixing with her hair. She listened as Sawyer came down the stairs followed by Kate, she watched silently as he opened the front door and left Kate following him turning around to look at the broken shell that was her daughter and mouthing three words of comfort the only way she could console her daughter without Sawyer acting out again._

_"Mommy loves you" she turned to leave and as the door shut behind her for the first time in a long while Faith felt abandoned, sure she never really felt like she was never completely alone but right there and then, in that moment she felt so alone. _

The last time Sawyer had hurt her Kate had tried to protect her now she was too weak, all she had to offer was a sign of love that she never showed. Faith sobbed her chest rising and falling rapidly and her body shaking as she wished hard for an angel to take her away. Little did she know her angel had been watching, waiting outside.

He sat in his car, windows up, sunglasses on and his heart racing so fast he could hear the blood pulsing through his ears. He saw the door open and saw a man step out, his dirty blonde hair and drunken swagger easily identifying him as being Sawyer... and then, he saw her. Those brown curls he had once held so tightly in his grip as they made love. Those green emeralds that had declared theri love for him in times when words couldnt amount to anything. He waited... but no sign of her. She would be five now, nearing six. Her hair, he imagined would be a dark shade of brown, but he knew whatever she looked like he would recognise her immediately. Thiers was a path destined to cross at one point... he just had to keep his faith. He continued watching as Kate and Sawyer got into the banged up Chevvy that was parked outside thier house and drove away.

His heart sank, she wasn't there... he felt the hatred build up as imagined her playing at her friends house and Sawyer picking her up, she would run to him and call him daddy... that word that mean so much to him. He'd never hear it. He imagined her running through waist high corn fields catching butterflies, playing dolls with her friends... maybe she was happy not knowing him, maybe it was for the best.

He got out of the car and walked over to the house. After close inspection he realised that there was no idication that a child lived here, no toys scattered on the front lawn, no swingset ... nothing. Curiosity got the better of him, he put his face to the glass sheilding his eyes with his hand to get a better look inside. Empty food cartons and beer cans claimed the room, cigarette stubs dotted the floor and furniture which was ripped and torn seemed unlivable. A slight movement by the far wall caught his attention and thats when he saw her, fightened and scared... his Faith.

**Even in my times of need, I can rely on you to help me through, you mean the world to me and I'll never let you go, coz without you I can't breathe. Reviews Mean Jater Love Magically Challenged XxX**


	5. What Husbands Do

**Again Hellmouth20 and EllaJulian this is for you XxX**

Jack watched as his daughter grabbed a phot of Kate from the table that sat beside the old tattered chair in the living room. She was holding a small child in her arms and she was giggling as was the little girl.

"That must have been taken a while ago" Jack thought out loud, watching as Faith looked at the picture and then back at him.

"This was when we lived with Grampa... before mommy and Sawyer lived together..." she looked at Kates face and smiled before shaking her head "... she never smiled like this anymore" as if reading his mind.

"You ready?" Jack asked her watching as his daughter took one last look around the room and then turned to him and nodded. He held out his arms and Faith walked straight into them, without hesitation she wrapped her arsm around his neck and hugged him equaly as tightly as he was embracing her. He felt something cold touch his neck before he realised she was crying.

"I wish we could bring the real mommy with us" she whispered into his ear, her small hands still clutching the picture of herself and Kate in happier times. Jack closed his eyes and didn't voice his opinions but inside his heart was wishing they could bring Kate home with them too.

Walking to the door with his daughter in his arms Jack felt a sense of relief wash over him. He was finally beginning to feel thhe gaping hole in his heart fill up. They stepped outside into the dimming daylight. Only instead of walking out to freedom Jack collided into the body of a person he had no desire of meeting.

"And just where do you think you're taking her?" Sawyers southern drawl asked, his eyes fixed on Jack watching with hatred filled eyes as Jacks hands protectively held his daughter closer to his body. Her head buried into his shoulder and her body now shaking Jack felt more hatred than he ever thought he could feel. He looked past Sawyer and saw Kate standing there a mixture of shock and relief spread across her pallid face. Jack tightened his grip on his daughter and whispered reassurance into her ear before walking right past Sawyer.

He stopped, looking Kate in the eyes he nodded. He didn't have to say a word she knew he was taking Faith and there was no was she was going to stop him, her heart told her not to. She couldn't keep doing this to her daughter, it wasn't right... she deserved to be with her father. Someone who would love her and treat her the way she deserved to be treated. She returned the nod and took a step aside as Jack walked down the pathway towards his car.

Faith lifted her head from the safeness of her fathers shoulder. Her arms still wrapped tightly around his neck as she looked back at Sawyer whose face was lit up like all his wishes had come true and Kate... well the tears were already streaming down her face. She closed her eyes as her head found her dads shoulder once more. Jack opened the car door and he gently lowered her into the front passengers seat, buckling her in and placing a kiss on her forehead before shutting the door and walking back up the pathway.

His fists clenched he had to resist the urge to kill Sawyer right then and there. He wasn't going to fight infont of his daughter, it just wasn't dignified, instead he walked over to Kate.

"Jack I'm sorry..." she began only to be intterupted by a voice she had longed to hear.

"Sorry for what Kate... for taking my daughter away, for letting her forget me... for letting him hit her.." he looked over at Sawyer who was staring at him cockily, as Kates eyes widened against Jacks allegations, Faith already trusted him enought to tell him everything. "... Yeah you son of a bitch, I know you hit her..."

"I didn't do a damn thing doc, ya can't prove anything..." Sawyer spoke mockingly, throwing a look at him that told him he didn't want to push it.

Jack turned away from Kate and walked a few steps closer to Sawyer closing the space between them. "I'm sure the words of a five year old abuse victim will be enough to put your ass in jail for a while..." he threatened, watching as Sawyers eyes widened.

"You can try doc..."

"You know Sawyer I'd kick your ass right here and now..."

"What's stopping ya doc?" Sawyer asked knowingly, watching as Jack looked back and forth from Kate to the car that held his now sleeping daughter.

"See that..." Jack said, pointing to the car ".. that beautiful broken little girl in there. Thats whats stopping me Sawyer, she's seen and lived more pain and hurt than I ever wanted for her and I'm not about to destroy her trust in me..."

"It's not as if she means anything to ya doc... she's just a kid, a watse of time... Hell who knows if she really is your kid... she's nothing but the daughter of a whore..." Sawyer said, watching as Jack shook his head this thought and then it happened. He fell to the floor and reached for his lip, pulling his hand away he saw it was covered in blood. Jack stood above him with a horrified Kate, shaking his head, he leant over so that there gazes met, Jacks now steely gaze telling Sawyer to stay put.

"I swear Sawyer you ever talk about my daughter that way again... I'll kill you..." he said, standing back up and turning to Kate "...I'm taking her home... I shouldn't have let you leave..."

"I shouldn't have left..." Kate admitted, her voice barely audible as she looked not at Jack but at the floor. He walked over to her and grabbed her hadn, his heart breaking as he saw how fragile and frightened she had become.

"Come with us..." he asked, his hand finidng her chin as he lifted her gaze to meet his own. She looked at him and for a while she thought about how good it would be to go back, to be away from all this. But was it going to be any different, at least here Sawyer was home with her, she had some form of companionship even if they did have thier bad times. He was still there when she needed him... work never came firsrt.

"I can't..." she admitted, feeling slightly ashamed at her thoughts "... I've made my bed Jack..."

He shook his head and let out a breath "... Your bed Kate... you might have made your bed here, but you made your home with me... you made your family with me... with us... with me and our daughter...Look at her Kate..." he ordered, feeling quite frustrated that she couldn't see what she was giving up, that she had become so controlled.

Kate looked over at the little girl curled up in the front seat of Jacks car. Her head resting carlessly on the window, sleeping peacefully for the first time in a long while. Kate smiled and felt a sudden urge to join her daughter in that peaceful slumber, she was tired of all of this.. too tired to take anymore. She turned to face Sawyer who still lying on the ground clutching at his face where the blood was still seeping from the gash beside his mouth, still to drunk to get up and hit Jack. Her gaze then travelled to him, she noticed he looked exhausted too... like he hadn't slept in as long as she had. He wasn't the clean shaved man she left all those years ago, his stubble was messy and his hair was longer than she remembered.

"Jack I can't go back to how it was..." she told him, sorrow burning a hole into her heart, she had to be truthful "... If i did, I'd only run away again and thats not fair to you both..."

Jack took a step forward and raised his hand to her face. She flinched as it connected with her cheek, gently cupping her face, she closed her eyes and fought back tears, in her mind she thought about how in her life hands weren't made for this. Jack leaned closer to her and whispered in her ear.

"Then don't come back to how it was then... come back to how it is now. You don't know how it's changed, It's changed so much... It has to better than this... give it a try, give us a try" he pleaded feeling her arms snake around his neck where Faiths had been just minutes before. He pulled her into a tight embrace, her head falling effortlessly to his chest as if it had never left. He ran his skilled fingers through her messy brown curls and sighed.

"Come on..." he said, kissing her forehead. They borke apart from thier embrace Kate suddenly missing the feeling of his touch, his embrace. As if senseing this Jacks hand slipped into her own, their fingers interlocking.

Leading her down the pathway towards the car, Jack opened the passenger seat and lifted a sleeping Faith out of the car. He opened the back door and lay her down on the back seat, bucling her in and covering her with a blanket he kept in the car incase of a breakdown. Kate slid into the passenger seat and Jack closed the door gently, careful not to wake up Faith. As he entered the car he let out a deep breath, one that contained all the hurt and pain he had held for the past five years. He started the car and they pulled away from the house. Jack wondered what happened next, where did they go from here? He soon realised that he didn't have to worry as he felt Kates hand fall on top of his own. He looked over at her and smiled, and for the first time in a longt ime she returned his smile mouithing a 'thankyou' to him as she did so. He knew she was grateful, but he also felt like telling her that she din't have to thank him. It was what husbands did for the love of their lives.

**OOOH!! did i tell you theres more... Review and I shall update XxXx**


	6. Right Here

They pulled up outside the white manor house that stood alone in the middle of the land they had bought together after finally escaping the island. She remembered the day they had bought the house, it was perfect, big enough for all the children they had wanted so badly and it wasn't in the city. That was the one thing Jack had insisted upon when searching for their home, he wanted Kate to feel at home, at ease.

One day after work, feeling the frustration at not being able to save yet another precious life he had climbed into his car and gone for a long drive, to clear his mind. He found himself driving mindlessly down the lonely back roads of a place just outside of the hustle and bustle they had found themselves trapped in and just as he was about to turn around and go home he spotted it. Standing there alone and quiet yet so full of life. The white washed walls telling stories of simpler times, and the acres of corn fields surrounding it whispered to Jack that this was it... this was their home.

After buying the house he had spent the entire summer building a tree house in the large oak that stood majestically just a few metres from the house. After all, he had grown up wanting a tree house and living in Boston and being the son of a top surgeon his life had been spent listening to tales of surgeries and eventually reading medical journals in the hopes of one day finally being able to make his father feel proud of him. He didn't want that for his children, he wanted them to feel free... he wanted them to know he'd love them no matter what they did, or who they were.

Kate's eyes soaked up the house once more; she raised her hand to the glass window pane and gently fingered the pane which seeped the image of the house standing in front of her. She wasn't sure how she was supposed to feel, or what she was supposed to do but watching as Jack started to exit the car she closed her eyes and let out a deep breath she had been repressing the entire ride home.

It had been a quiet journey back from Sawyers. No one uttered a word except for Faith crying for her daddy as she woke up not realising where she was after suffering a bad dream. Kate had watched as instead of continuing to drive, Jack pulled over and got into the back of the car. He unbuckled Faiths seatbelt and pulled her onto his lap, her head resting against his chest and his heartbeat soothing her tears as he gently rocked her back and forth all the while assuring her that he was there and she was safe now.

_"No one is going to hurt you anymore baby... daddy promises" he whispered and Kate watched this through the rear view afraid that if she turned to face this sight head on it would disappear._

_"Daddy..." Faith trembled her tiny frame shaking in his comforting grasp. Jack, realising that she was cold reached out for a blanket and wrapped it around his daughter placing a kiss on her forehead. _

_"Daddy's right here..." he informed her tightening his embrace as he soothed her back to sleep. Only when he was fully convinced that she had fallen prey to that peaceful slumber that children her age should have he placed her gently down on the back seat and climbed back in next to Kate. She had forgotten just how caring he had been, how caring he still was but people change. This she knew all too well, but as she watched him holding their daughter she knew that Jack hadn't changed he was still as loving and caring as he ever was. _

Jack closed the door to the car, being careful not to wake his still sleeping daughter. Reaching into the back seat he unbuckled her once more and wrapped his large arms around her pulling her to his chest. Closing the door and meeting Kate at the bottom of the wooden steps that lead to their front door a tear fell down his face.

"Jack..." Kate began but he shook his head letting her know that he wasn't upset, just happy... happy to have his little girl right where she belonged.

"I'm going to put her down... her room is still in the same place...just made a few adjustments" Jack told Kate walking up the stairs. She stood at the bottom of the stairs watching nervously as they left her alone in the home she had ran from all those years ago. Things had just got on top of her, with Jack being at work all the time she had felt the overbearing sensation of a house too big for herself and her thoughts and after finally letting a moment of madness take over she had ran. She walked into the living room, the cream carpet still looking brand new, the house exactly as she remembered; she looked back at herself from a picture about the log fire place that had been taken just a few weeks after she had told Jack she was pregnant. They were sitting underneath the tall oak, her back pressed into his chest as his large skilled surgeons hands lay flat on her slightly protruding stomach, a look of sheer elation on both their faces. Claire had taken that photograph; it had been the last one they had taken together before... Kate shook her head; she didn't want to think about running anymore. She just wanted to start all over again...start anew.

Slipping her shoes off her feet she allowed the welcoming feeling of warmth from the carpet as she walked over to the grand piano that stood in front of the patio doors. Her fingers gently traced the top picking up a layer of dust, she smiled thinking of the times she would come in to find Jack sitting there playing it... she had never known how amazingly soothing it could be to just watch and listen to him play. Feeling a little confused as to why Jack had yet to return downstairs she decided to go find him, walking up the stairs she noticed that her pictures still hung on the walls. Making her way to Faiths nursery she felt her heart skip a beat as she heard sobbing noises coming from within the room.

Standing in the doorway what she saw would have broken her heart had it have not been broken years before. Jack was sitting on the side of the bed, Faith was still asleep her head resting gently on the pink silk pillows, a theme that continued throughout the room. He had his hand on his forehead and his shoulders were shaking clearly indicating that he was crying. Kate walked over to him and placed her hand on his shoulder, as he looked up she saw how broken he was inside.

"Jack..." she began, he stood up and wiped away his tears with the back of his hand. He took a deep, stifled breath before he began to speak.

"I... um, I undressed her changed her into her pyjamas', and she looked at me like... like I was going to hurt her Kate... and then I saw..."

"You saw what Jack..." Kate asked her eyes wide in confusion and terror. Jack walked over to his sleeping daughter and bit his bottom lip; pulling back the covers he gently lifted up her top to expose a huge bruise that covered her lower back. Kate gasped, having not noticed this before. It must have been from when Sawyer threw her against the wall. She bit back tears as Jack covered his daughter up once more and moved over to Kate wrapping his arms around her.

"I didn't know... I... he..." she started, not knowing what to say to convince Jack that she hadn't realised how badly Faith had been hurt. He just tightened his grip on her as his hands found her hair he nodded.

"I know... It's okay..." he began then shook his head "... you know what it's not okay Kate... I want to kill that son of a bitch for what he has done to her. You know when I..." pulled back to look into Kates eyes and found tears forming in his own again "... she... she thought I was going to hurt her too..."

"Jack I'm so sorry...I shouldn't have..." Kates words where hushed by his finger on her lips, his eyes meeting hers and telling her that no explanations were needed, not tonight. Eventually he would want answers but for tonight, he'd just wanted his family back... right where they belonged.


	7. Welcome Home

**This is for Russ; it's as simple as that.**

They stayed like that, just sitting at the end of the bed watching their daughter sleep; finally at peace. Finding a comfort only, this place she could call home could offer her. Once they were comfortable that she was in a deep sleep they stood up and began to leave the room.

Standing outside her room they felt an uncomfortable silence wash over them, Jack looking down at the floor and Kate's eyes roaming the picture clad walls focusing on anything but him.

"I uh... Do you want coffee?" Jack asked, breaking the silence that hung thick in the air. Kate looked over at him and saw that he was just as nervous as she was.

"A coffee would be great..." she stated and followed him downstairs and into the kitchen. Whilst Jack prepared coffee, Kate slid into one of the tall oak barstools at the breakfast bar her now bare feet tickled by the coldness of the metal footrest she accidentally grazed as she swung her legs back and forth.

"Nervous energy?" Jack asked a smile on his face at how good it felt having her to talk to.

"Buckets full..." she admitted, her hands clasping the warm mug he placed in front of her. They drank their coffee in silence. It was funny, you think with all the time spent apart they would have something to say...the silence wasn't as uneasy as it was before. It was an emotional silence. The kind of silence that said more than words ever could. Kate finished off her drink and a small yawn escaped her. She saw his reaction to this was a smile, putting their cups in the sink he walked back over to her.

"You can take the bed I..."

"Jack..." she interrupted "... I can stay with Faith, its fine. I'd feel better knowing that when she woke up she wasn't alone in a strange house" she saw his jaw tighten at this last remark and she stood up apologetically.

"It's okay... I understand..." he said before walking out of the kitchen and up the stairs. Kate bit her bottom lip and shook her head following him up the stairs where he ventured into his room and returned holding a pair of grey sweatpants and his UCLA sweatshirt.

"Here... I thought you might want something to change into..." he said, his tone monotonous and hurt. Kate tried to read his thoughts as she took the clothes out of his hands, nodding appreciatively at him; a small smile on her face as she fingered the tattered lettering on his sweater.

"I remember you liked that..." Jack said noticing her smile and wanting nothing more than to stay and marvel at the wonder now painted on her face. It was smiled like hers that could make or break a guy, and he had to admit he was feeling pretty good right now. Kate looked up into his deep, dark questioning eyes and found no questions, just answers. Answers to the questions that had haunted her for the past five years and even though they both wanted... needed these answers, they also wanted something that meant so much more to either of them. A sense of comfort, belonging and that feeling you get inside when you know you have been given another chance.

Jack smiled back at her and turned around about to head back to his room when he felt her hand on his arm, spinning him around to face her.

"Thank you..." she said sincerely, her voice barely audible. She stood on her tiptoes and placed a kiss on his nose in memory of those he used to give her back before... well, back before she left. He felt a sudden urge to return her kiss but decided against his better judgement to just smile and turn back towards his room. He couldn't afford to do anything to jeopardise having them both back at home not after everything he had been through to find them.

Kates' heart sank as she watched him leave; looking down at the change of clothes she held in her hands she began to enter Faiths room. She walked over to the bed and placed the clothes down on the silk sheets, as she undressed she felt her old life slipping away with each garment she removed. The life she had regretfully chosen now lay in a pile of unwanted memories made upon cloth on the floor of a home she had come to love and wished she'd never left. She knew Jack and she knew he would want answers sooner or later, but what was confusing her was his seemingly willingness to wait for those answers. That she didn't understand. Most people would have shouted, screamed, maybe even said things they would have lived to regret all in the name of the truth, but Jack... he had just smiled and brushed it all aside. She wondered if he even wanted her here, or if it really was just his daughter he came looking for. She picked up his sweater and fingered the hem and looked over at Faith, remembering how the last time she had worn this, her daughter had been wearing it too. She smiled at seeing Faith; her raven curls matted and unbrushed spread across the silk pillows, her tear stained face making Kates heart melt. She pulled the sweater over her head, her mind still debating where exactly her relationship with Jack stood, or if it lay in ruins like those memories at her feet. Her heart ached for a peaceful love and her mind ached for a peaceful life and her questions and fears were brushed aside as she looked down at the sweatpants and found a photograph.

The beach, his arms wrapped lovingly around her waist, her back pressed into his chest as they gazed at the camera with their heavily sated eyes from their morning of pleasurable activity. She remembered that day all too well, it was in that moment the most precious thing was created. It was in that moment that all that is good in life was captured. Kate smiled and let her fingers trace the outline of the words that had been scrawled across the bottom of the picture in Jacks elegant script. A tear falling down her face as she whispered those written words into the night sky.

"Welcome Home"

_**What can I say other than please review... I stopped getting reviews so I stopped writing this fic unsure if anyone was even interested in me continuing it but it appears that day after day, new Jaters are created and are finding my work and I adore coming home to find that someone has reviewed my work, be it positive or negative, either way it means my words are being read... anywhos... reviews mean love... Jater love... **__**XxX**__** Magically Challenged **__**XxX**_


	8. These Hands

**Yey! I got reviews, and they made me write seven more chapters to this story so... as you can see reviews are my carrots... dangle them and I shall write. I know I do a lot of dedications in my chapters and most of them go out to people who I see review, due to the fact that it's because of them that I write... so leave your name and a review and who knows this next chapter could be for you...**

_**"**__**We're done if we're undone; finished if we are incomplete. As one we are everything, we are everything we need... All this indecision, all this independent strength. Still, we've got our hearts on save, we've got our hearts on save...Someday when you're lonely, sometime after all this bliss, somewhere lost in emptiness I hope you find this gift...**__**" **_

Kate awoke to the feeling of emptiness occupying the space next to her, her daughters shape still moulded into the pillow. She felt anxious, her chest tightening and the inability to breathe taking over and then she realised where she was. With the ease of her worries and the loosening of her chest, she slipped out from underneath the sheets. Wandering around the room, her eyes scanning the butterflies painted on the walls that fluttered their way up to the ceiling. She let her fingers trace the gold lining on their wings and her eyes closed as she remembered what it felt like to be as free and carless as those butterflies. The sound of childish giggling infiltrated the room and she realised that it was coming from down the hall. Clutching her arms around her slender frame she found herself wandering down towards where the noise was emanating from, stopping when she realised that it was coming from Jacks room where the door was half open.

Allowing herself a second to compose herself she slipped into the room unnoticed, her curiosity as to what was making her daughter make those noises she had only heard during her toddler stages taking over her, she let her eyes wander over to the bed. She didn't have to look too far.

Faith was sitting on the huge bed that belonged to her father, the thick white duvet like a giant cloud underneath her tiny frame. There was the freshly showered smell lingering in the air and Kate could see that Faiths face was anything but tearstained. But what amazed her most was not her daughter sitting on the large bed but rather what was going on. It was until then that she had noticed Jacks large frame sitting behind his daughter, his wondrous gaze focused as he gently brushed the knots out his daughter's hair, his calloused surgeon's hands gently running through those raven curls that was the ultimate mixture of their love. Kate look a deep breath when she saw that Jack was only wearing his sweat pants and his top half was uncovered she remembered the days she would be held close to that chest and the nights she would be held even closer.

They hadn't noticed her slipping into the room, too caught up in each other to notice they were being watched. Jack let the brush slide through his daughter's waist length hair and placed the brush down next to him.

"Your turn daddy..." Faith cheered, getting up from her cross legged stance and moving until she was standing behind her father. Kate watched fearful that Jack wouldn't play along, but her fears were dispelled as her daughter picked up the brush and began to run it through Jacks messy shoulder length hair.

"You're really good at this you know..." Jack said, smiling as Faith picked up a hair grasp and began scooping up clumps of Jacks hair and tying it in what could only be described as bunches. When she was finished Jack turned to face his daughter and noticed the look of sheer elation on her face.

"You look silly daddy..." she giggled and he picked her up and gently lowered her to the bed where he began to tickle her being careful not to hurt her as she squirmed beneath him both their giggles now filling the room.

Not wanting to interrupt such a sweet moment Kate tried to back out of the room but her escape was to no avail. She spun around and banged her head on the doorframe. The giggling stopped and Jack jumped.

"Don't let me interrupt..." Kate said, holding her forehead in one hand and waving the other nonchalantly at Jack who had now stood up and was making his way over to where she stood. He let his hands wander to her head and remove her own hand from where a lump was now forming on her head.

"Kate... are you okay...We didn't see you standing there..."

"I'm fine, honestly... this happens all the time..." she tried to cover with another wave of her hand. Jack let his fingers gently touch the bump and Kate flinched as he did so.

"You walk into a lot of doorframes..." he asked playfully leading her back to the bed where their daughter sat watching intently her mouth agape, as for the first time she witnessed a man placing his hands gently on her mother. Kate looked at her daughter and smiled, letting her know that it was okay and that Jack wasn't going to hurt her.

"Morning baby..." Kate whispered as she motioned for Faith to climb into her lap. Jack was still fingering the now emerging bruise before walking to the bathroom without a word. Faith looked at Kate, that worried look in her eyes and Kate smiled and brought her lips down to kiss her daughters head "...You smell good..." Kate told her daughter, closing her eyes and breathing in the scent of her hair.

"Daddy let me have a shower..." Faith regaled, her tone now as nervous as her posture as she clung onto Kate's sweater and looked at her mom. Jack walked back into the room with a bottle of peroxide and began to pour it onto a washcloth. Kate closed her eyes as he reached out to place it on the offending area; suddenly he felt a hand grab his wrist.

"Please don't hurt my mommy..." Faith squeaked, her bottom lip quivering and her eyes now containing that scared look she had in yesterday. Jack let out a breath and smiled at his daughter, realising she must have interpreted the situation wrong. He let his hand fall back down to his lap as he crouched on the floor in front of them.

"Faith..." Kate began, noticing how her daughter still hand one hand gripping Kates sweater and the other held up defensively in front of her mother. Jack shook his head and smiled at Kate, his hands letting go of the washcloth and peroxide. He let his head fall for a second and then looked up into his daughters eyes.

"Faith, I promise you that I will never hurt you or your mommy...and I am so sorry that I... I'm so sorry..." Jack began, feeling tears welling up in his eyes he found it difficult to search for the words and the strength to tell daughter that he loved her mother, despite everything that had happened between them, and that he was so sorry that he couldn't have gotten them away from Sawyer sooner, he wanted to tell her that not all men were like Sawyer, not all men used their hands for bad things. He bit his bottom lip and shook his head. He couldn't find the words... they were lost somewhere inside him.

Kate noticed Jacks reaction and felt a tear roll down her cheek, she reached out for Faiths hands, letting her know that it was okay to let go of Jacks arm. Faith watched in awe as her mother reached down for Jacks hand, and brought it up to cup her face. He looked up into Kates eyes and smiled. Her lips gently covering his hand in small kisses saved from days gone by, she felt him fall to his knees and move closer to her, brushing away her fallen tear. Faith sat and watched her breathing heavy and her body shaking as Jack moved his head closer to Kates, and their lips met in a kiss that had been long overdue. He let his free hand roam to find his daughters hand as he ran his fingers through Kate's hair with the other, all the while not breaking away from her lips. Kate closed her eyes, her hand finding Jacks face she let it linger there as they finally broke apart.

Brown searched Emerald as they watched intently both waiting for the other to say something... neither did. They both just stayed that way for a little while, not breaking eye contact until Faith slipped off her moms' knee and picked up the washcloth. She looked it over and then looked back at her parents still unsure of what to expect. All she knew was that her mom trusted her dad not to hurt her, and Sawyers hands never held a brush, or tickled her to make her laugh. She let her shaking hand hold out the cloth to Jack who turned away from Kate just long enough to see his daughter offering him her acceptance, her trust. He smiled and took the cloth out of her tiny hands, pulling Faith tenderly onto his lap where she leant into his chest, watching as he raised his hands to Kates face once more and began to fix her.


End file.
